Government Streamlines Broadband Grants Process

Want some of that federal broadband stimulus money? Better make it snappy. The government agencies running the program announced Tuesday that they will consolidate the process and hold two funding rounds, instead of three.

Want some of that federal broadband stimulus money? Better make it snappy. The government agencies running the program announced Tuesday that they will consolidate the process and hold two funding rounds, instead of three.

The Commerce and Agriculture Departments also opened up a 14-day comment period for people to submit their thoughts on how the agencies should change the application process for the second round.

"Based on our experience with the first funding round, including the overwhelming response we've seen from applicants nationwide, we believe this consolidated approach brings a number of benefits," Lawrence E. Strickling, administrator of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) within Commerce.

The federal stimulus package passed earlier this year included $7.2 billion for broadband grants. The funds are split between Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS)  which gets $2.5 billion  and NTIA, which gets $4.7 billion. The money was scheduled to be handed out in three funding rounds.

To date, RUS and NTIA have received more than 2,200 grant applications requesting nearly $28 billion in funding. In order to process all applications thoroughly, the agencies told Congress last month that they would distribute the first round of funding in mid-December, about a month later than planned.

That first round is expected to be done by February 2010, and will dole out about $4 billion of the available $7.2 billion, the agencies said Tuesday.

"This will get the funds out the door faster to stimulate the economy and create jobs," Jonathan Adelstein, administrator for RUS, said in a statement. "It gives applicants and communities a greater opportunity to come together to form networks and find more creative ways to connect to the global economy through broadband."

Meanwhile, the government is considering a change to the application process in the second round, and opened a formal request for information (RFI) period for feedback from applicants.

"Some stakeholders, especially applicants completing the broadband infrastructure application, stated during the first round application process that completing the initial application was overly burdensome based on the questions asked and the number of attachments required," according to the RFI.

As a result, NTIA and RUS want to know what to change. Should certain attachments be eliminated? Should the current two-step review process be modified? Should there be a single application for RUS and NTIA infrastructure programs? What information should applicants be required to provide?

"We are listening to applicants, reviewing applications received, and all indications suggest a need to revisit the application process. We will consider changes to make the process more 'applicant friendly' from beginning to end," Adelstein said.

Ultimately, this approach can help us run the programs with increased efficiency and produce better results for the American public," Strickling said.

Broadband consultant Craig Settles said the move to consolidate was not a surprise, and believes new rules "should make round-two funding a lot more effective and efficient for everyone involved."

The first round was "geared mainly to private telecom companies," as they required details like profits and loss statements.

"Requiring [such] details are difficult to respond to when 'profits' mean something very different for local governments and nonprofit organizations, which were a large percentage of applicants," Settles said. "The RFI asks should rules be created that are more in line with these organizations' reality."

One suggestion Settles made was for government agencies to upgrade their Web computing power to better handle online applications. "Why force people to convert files to PDF format online when they can do that more easily on their desktop and e-mail you a zipped file," he said.

Chloe Albanesius has been with PCMag.com since April 2007, most recently as Executive Editor for News and Features. Prior to that, she worked for a year covering financial IT on Wall Street for Incisive Media. From 2002 to 2005, Chloe covered technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from American University...
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